The disclosed embodiments relate to wireless devices, and more particularly, to devices and methods for retaining an antenna in a wireless communications device.
Wireless communications devices, such as mobile phones, pagers, handheld computers, etc., are becoming increasingly popular for both business and personal use. One advantage of such devices is their “wireless” aspect, allowing them to be utilized whenever and wherever a user desires. In order for such devices to communicate, they must send and receive communications signals via an antenna. It is desirable to have the antenna protrude out from the device to enable it to easily send and receive these communications signals. As such, typical wireless communications devices include a noticeable antenna assembly sticking out from the main housing of the device. Because of their prominence, such antenna assemblies are subject to dislodging forces, either resulting from the impact of a drop or from tampering or wiggling by a user.
Typical antenna designs are not robust enough to handle these dislodging forces, as typical antenna assemblies are designed to allow their removal. For instance, manufacturers typically design an antenna assembly to be easily removed so that it can be serviced or replaced. Further, manufacturers favor a removable antenna assembly design to allow the antenna assembly to be reworked to correct for a mistake or to integrate new parts. For example, in the manufacturing assembly process, when a mistake is made in assembling the wireless communications device or the antenna assembly, manufacturing personnel desire an antenna assembly design that allows such a mistake to be corrected at a point in time after the assembly has been completed. As such, typical antenna assemblies are removable from the housing of the wireless communications device even after they are installed. As discussed above, however, this removable aspect weakens the integrity of the connection between the antenna assembly and the communications device, thereby allowing dislodging forces to remove or damage the antenna assembly, making the wireless communications device useless.
Thus, wireless communications devices and antenna assemblies are desired which provide for a securely retained antenna that is able to withstand all different types of dislodging forces.